Jakarta, GoHitz.com – The high public interest in the use of health services in the era of the National Health Insurance (JKN), both using BPJS Health and the Healthy Indonesia card, has also driven the high demand for medical device products (alkes), starting from simple products. , such as cotton, cotton buds, gloves, masks, to medical equipment products with high technology. Not only in terms of quantity, the demand for medical devices also demands an increase in product quality and services from medical personnel.
It was stated by dr. Andi Saguni, Director of Health Service Facilities, Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia. “Supervision and campaigns about good health services should be supported by quality, useful, and safe medical equipment products in every service facility, such as clinics, hospitals, and health centers. So, the public will get proper service and their safety is guaranteed,” he said in Jakarta, Friday (4/5).
According to Andi, improving the quality of medical devices does not only consider the unit quality aspect of these medical devices, but also considers the education and training aspects of its users. “The educational elements and ongoing trainings aim to increase the competitiveness of Indonesian health workers at the global level. Now, business actors in the medical equipment sector, especially medical equipment importers, are required to be open in determining costs, in order to determine reasonable prices and in accordance with applicable laws and regulations,” he explained.
He continued, this element of transparency is often misinterpreted as setting the lowest selling price. “In fact, the intended transparency is the compliance of entrepreneurs to follow applicable regulations, such as import fees, education fees, equipment maintenance, training costs, guarantees, distribution costs, equipment installation, and other costs related to being the owner of a medical equipment distributor permit,” said Andi.
The difficulty of meeting the Ministry of Health’s target of meeting the needs of the domestic medical equipment industry, which targets 25 percent of national needs in 2030, is also recognized by the Indonesian Association of Medical and Laboratory Equipment Company Organizations (Gakeslab). “This is because, until now, medical equipment industry players are faced with pressure on selling prices to below the cost of goods sold (HPP), especially for imported medical devices that are included in the government e-Catalog managed by LKPP,” said General Chairperson of Gakeslab Indonesia, H. Sugihadi.
According to him, currently a number of imported medical devices that are included in the E-Catalog list are offered variously by LKPP, ranging from 1.3 to 1.6 of the fair customs price. “Supposedly, the fair price of medical equipment customs should be at the level of at least 1.4 or 40 percent of the basic price when buying from exporters abroad. The import costs include insurance, freight forwarding, import duty taxes, Import VAT, PPNBM, PPh 22, bank administration fees, as well as transportation and insurance services,” explained Sugihadi.
The cost component, continued Sugihadi, is a cost that has been incurred by the importer since the goods left the exporter’s warehouse until they arrived at the warehouse in Indonesia. “So, if the numbers in the e-Catalog are then negotiated again below the HPP price, of course it can disrupt the quality and quality of the medical equipment itself, which in turn will worsen hospital services and patient health. This is what we continue to negotiate with LKPP with the Ministry of Health,” he said.
In fact, the components that make up the HPP of medical equipment are not just import costs. Jonker Hamonangan, Chairman of the Customs Service Management Employers’ Association (Asakindo) added that forming a reasonable selling price for medical equipment must also comply with standardization rules to ensure product quality, safety and usability, which should be the main priority of the medical equipment industry.
He continued, in fact, the HPP borne by importers in Indonesia does not match the HPP listed in the e-Catalog. “So what fair price do we expect? If for consumable medical supplies, the fairness is at 1.95. While medical devices that need special education, distribution and installation, the price is around 2.4. If it is at that number, new medical equipment entrepreneurs can meet the government’s request to achieve high growth, maintain quality, and ensure patient health, “explained Jonker.
The determination of the HPP for imported medical devices was also confirmed by Rd. Kartono Dwidjosewojo, Head of the DKI Jakarta Gakeslab. “This price demand is reasonable because medical equipment industry players have undergone strict licensing standards such as Medical Device Distributor Permits (IPAK), Marketing Permits, Good Medical Device Distribution Methods (CDAKB), and other standardization rules. Moreover, if all medical devices in the e-Catalog have to be imported, not all medical supplies will be sold. It could be a waste of the capital that we spent 1-2 years earlier for the management of permits and others,” added Kartono.
Based on Gakeslab data, of the 250 thousand medical device licenses issued by the Ministry of Health, there are only 16,667 medical device license numbers registered in the e-Catalog. “This is also related to the limitations of the medical equipment registration process into the e-Catalog, plus the unscheduled registration time, and the mechanism for offering unreasonable prices. We are still asking for consideration and negotiating with LKPP regarding the determination of a reasonable HPP. In addition, we also urge the members of the Gakeslab to refuse the offer if the medical equipment product is offered under the HPP,” concluded Sugihadi.
